Elynne Rosenfeld

ï¿½I like to think that contemporary
observers continue to find space for wonder,
marvel and beauty to co-exist alongside
shock,anger and deconstruction in art.ï¿½
I am in awe of tree trunks; these asymmetrical tubes are a visual treasure trove. While we celebrate their cross sections by turning their hewn remains into something other, while we marvel at the fruits they bear, the sap we extract and the leaves we watch glinting in the sun, we seldom reflect on the intricacies of a treeï¿½s outer layer in its full life bloom.
I began observing tree trunks long before I found a proper setting for them. I never wished to depict them in a naturalistic way. (we have eyesight, cameras, arboretums, forests and even front lawns for that) Instead I wanted to discover their attitudes, textures, and color possibilities, create environments, unlikely situations, anthropomorphic metaphors; I wanted to provide viewers an alternative idiom in which to consider them.
The Ribbon Series is an outgrowth of this. I place the trunk form in abstract fields, often with undulating metallic ribbons woven through the composition. In my Tree Trunk Series the form is more recognizable. Often trunks are set against extreme closeups of other trunks. I like to pair a tropical trunk with one that could only grow in a Northern climate and weave them between unlikely barriers such as fences of metal, painted wood or stone.
Most recently mixed media drawings have evolved which vary the subjects introduced in my earlier work on canvas. Iï¿½ve taken an interest in succulents and how they might interact with deciduous trunks and barriers.
My work is an odd twist on botanical or nature art; each new piece leads to the next, surprising me with its little bending of self-imposed rules.